Continuing a sporting trend, the International Tennis Federation is now World Tennis

“Today is an opportunity to redefine our role at the heart of world tennis and pledge our commitment to ensuring a strong, sustainable future for this brilliant sport,” World Tennis president David Haggerty said Thursday. “World Tennis reflects who we are, our global footprint and unique mandate.”

Other international sport federations have made similar name changes in recent years, such as World Athletics, World Aquatics, World Gymnastics and World Rugby.

The name switch was ratified last October by member national tennis associations voting at the governing body’s annual general meeting.

London-based World Tennis works together with the ATP and WTA Tours and the four Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open — to organize the professional side of the sport.

“A lot of people think of the T7 as seven governing bodies when in fact they’re not seven governing bodies. They actually have different purposes, which all add together to equal a big pie of a sport,” World Tennis chief executive Ross Hutchins said, adding that the renaming reflects the organization’s “global nature.”

Wimbledon, where Serena Williams will play singles after nearly four years away, starts on Monday.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis